


Always

by EverlarkFire



Category: The Hunger Games (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-09
Updated: 2015-07-17
Packaged: 2018-04-08 12:31:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4305177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EverlarkFire/pseuds/EverlarkFire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Always takes place just a little while after Mockingjay before the epilogue. I don't want to give too much away so please read if you're interested.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Katniss P.O.V

I am standing on a shiny, silver platform. It takes me a minute to realize where I am. And when I do, I start panicking. The higher the platform rises the faster my heart beats. I think my heart is about to burst out of my chest by the time I reach the top.

I don't even have a chance to get my thoughts together before it happens. There's not even a countdown before the tolling of the gong. That's when I see him. The boy with the bread. My dandelion in the spring. His eyes meet mine just seconds before he falls. I have just enough time to notice the knife in his back before the cannon sounds.

I start running towards him. I can hear myself screaming, but my lips aren't moving. I am about two yards away when it appears. The hovercraft to pluck my dandelion away from me.

I lunge myself towards him hoping that I can somehow pull him away from death. That's when I'm startled awake by a pair of warm, strong arms wrapping around me. I jump up. Still hyperventilating and unable to breath.

I'm not thinking straight, but somehow I manage to wrap my arms around Peeta's body. He pulls me in close, and soon I'm shaking his whole body too.

"It's okay," he whispers. "It's not real." I look up into his blue eyes that were once full of hatred. Ready to kill me all because of President Snow. I start trembling again at the thought of the most snakelike person I've ever known. Peeta pulls me back a little. "Are you okay?" He asks as he pushes a strand of my hair away from my face. I nod my head, still mute from terror.

"Yeah," I somehow manage to choke out. He leans down and kisses me. I get that feeling again. The feeling of wanting more but never being able to get enough. The same feeling I got on the beach. That was almost a year ago. Seems a lot longer considering what we've been through since then. Especially the whole thing with Peeta being hijacked. He still suffers from that.

Every so often he'll ask me a question about something that's happened. There have been nights where we've stayed up playing the Real or Not Real game. Nights where I'm not comforted from my nightmares right away because he's up pacing the hallways. Clearing his head. But he's always there the second I scream. 

"What was it about this time?" Peeta asks as he sits down next to me. He wraps his arms back around me as I lay my head on his chest. He knows that sometimes talking about my nightmares helps to calm me down a little. 

"We were back in the arena," I say hoarsely. "I had just enough time to get a glimpse of you before you died," I say as my voice cracks on those last few words. "The last thing I saw was them coming to take you away from me." The tears start rolling down my cheeks again.

"It's okay now," Peeta assures me as he kisses my head. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Great," I say smiling. "I just wish that I could stop having nightmares about losing the people I love. It's true. Peeta, my mom, Gale, Prim. Which is weird because I've already lost Prim. But in a way I've already lost Gale, too. I haven't seen him since he moved to District 2. There's a longer list of people I care about, but those four frequent my nightmares. 

"It's okay. Broken memories are even scarier," Peeta says as he pulls me back just enough where he can see my eyes. "The only tangible memory that I got back from the arena is you. You're the only person who I can trust to tell me exactly what happened in there."

"I'm not the only living memory," I say as I stand up. "Wait here." I walk down the hallway and to the study. The room where President Snow had his meeting with me right before the Victory Tour. I look to the middle of the table and see it. Sitting right there where I left it. Laying on the parachute and replacing the vase of roses that were without a doubt place there by Snow. I pick up the parachute careful not to drop the object it's encasing. I walk back to the bedroom and hand the parachute to Peeta.

As he carefully unfolds it he looks up at me with disbelief. "The pearl," he says as he closes his eyes shut. Tears run down his face.

I sit down on the bed next to him and wrap my arms around his neck. We sit there in silence for a few minutes until Peeta speaks up.

"I wish I could freeze this moment and live in it forever," he says obviously remembering that last meaningful moment that we had to spend together right before the Quarter Quell.

"I'm glad Snow left that memory alone," I say smiling.

"There's a lot of things that I'm glad Snow left alone," Peeta says smiling from ear to ear. "And I don't mean just memories either," he says as he kisses me. "Were gonna make it," he whispers. "It's all gonna be okay."


	2. Chapter 2

Katniss P.O.V.

After I take a bath and get dressed, I walk downstairs to find Peeta standing in the kitchen holding my bow and sheath of arrows.

"Thought you might wanna go hunting today," Peeta says as he hands me my bow and arrows.

"Thank you," I reply as I take the sheath and sling it over my shoulder followed by my bow. 

"You're welcome," Peeta says as he walks over to me. "Don't forget this," he says as he pins my mockingjay pin to my shirt on the place right over my heart. I smile so big that my cheeks start to hurt after a few seconds. I lace on my boots and fling my game bag over the same shoulder that my bow and arrows is on.

When we're at the door getting ready to leave, Peeta takes my game bag, bow, and arrows off my shoulder.

"What are you doing?" I ask hoping that he hasn't changed his mind about hunting.

"Here," he says as he takes my fathers hunting jacket off the coat hanger and helps me put it on.

"Thank you," I say appreciatively. "Can't go hunting without it."

"Is that you were getting ready to walk out the door and leave it here?" Peeta teases. I roll my eyes as I laugh. Peeta picks up the game bag, and I reposition my bow and sheath of arrows on my shoulder. As soon as my bow is flung back over my shoulder we head out the door.

As we pass by the half-standing train station I can't help but wonder if anybody's coming in today. No one hardly comes through here anymore. Just reporters or photographers to get a glimpse of what has become of 12. They probably take what little information that they learn back to their District for entertainment or something. At first everybody talked about trying to rebuild 12. They quickly gave up on the idea and they all left, which is fine by me.

I like it that way. We have to send in special orders on the train if we want anything such as clothes, food, medicine, but that's not a big hassle. We just write our name and what we want and give it to the conductor of the train. The only problem is you have to know when to catch it because the train only stays here an hour each time it stops. Once at day and once at night. The rest of the time the train stays in the Capitol until it's time to start the next day.

With me, Peeta, and Haymitch being the only people actually living in District 12, it provides me with a safe haven. A place for me and Peeta to safely start a family without ever having to worry about our kids being reaped every year for the awful Games. When I think about this it provides me with a sense of security. Me and Peeta must be thinking about the same thing because just as I am about to speak, he takes the words right out of my mouth. 

"Why don't we actually get married?" Peeta asks as he slips his hand into mine.

"I was thinking the same thing," I say squeezing his hand. "The only problem is how? I mean there's no Justice Building anymore. We could still do the little ritual but it wouldn't be the same without anyone to celebrate with." 

"Let's ask Haymitch to marry us," Peeta suggests.

"Haymitch?" I laugh. "I don't think Haymitch is necessarily qualified to marry us."

"Why not?" Peeta asks. "I mean the only people living here now is us three. Who says we can't make our own rules?" he asks.

"Alright," I say happily as I kiss Peeta on the lips. "Lets do it. Lets get married." Peeta starts going the other direction, but I grab his arm. "But first, lets go hunting," I say smiling.

"Fine," Peeta says as he laughs and rolls his eyes. So hand in hand we go walking towards the Meadow.

When we finally reach our destination we break off and take two different paths. Peeta goes one way to gather, and I go the other way to hunt.

"We'll meet back here in two hours so we can have enough time to cook some of it for lunch," Peeta says as he turns around and walks off in his direction.

By the time the two hours is almost up, I have four squirrels, two rabbits, and a few birds. I'm about to start walking back to our meeting spot when a haunting voice from behind me stops me dead in my tracks.

"Hey Catnip."


	3. Chapter 3

Katniss P.O.V

"Gale?" I say as I whisk around quickly. It's like the breath has been knocked out of me. "What are you dong here?" I ask a little too defensively.

"I had to come back for memories sake," Gale says coming towards me to give me a hug. I back away. "What's wrong with you? I just want a hug. Is that too much to ask?"

"No," I say as I reluctantly accept his embrace. When he lets go, I step back a few paces again.

"Are you mad at me?" he asks.

"You should've told me you were moving to District 2," I say before I realize how much damage this could do. Mine and Gale's friendship is hanging on for dear life, and I might have just killed it. 

"Now you know how it feels to keep secrets from people," Gale says in a hurt voice.

"Fine," I snap. "You want me to tell you everything?" 

"Yes. I would like that," Gale snaps back.

"Peeta and I are getting married. For real this time. Not because we're pushed into it, but because we actually love each other!" As the words slip out of my mouth, Gale backs away from me. "What? Not what you wanted to hear?" I'm almost screaming now but I don't know exactly why. I guess because I'm trying to get a point across.

"You couldn't have told me in a better way?" Gale asks as he picks a handful of berries off a nearby bush. For some reason this makes me snap.

"You wanted to know the truth didn't you?" I yell. Right at the time I'm wondering if Peeta can hear me, he comes running through the woods.

"Katniss!" he yells. He's waiting for a reply, and about the time I get ready to yell his name, he notices us. Ignoring Gale, Peeta comes running towards me. "Are you okay?" he asks out of breath.

"Yeah," I reply eyeing Gale. "Everything's just fine." 

"We'd better go," Peeta says as he takes my game bag and flings it over his shoulder. "Got to get back in time for lunch." he says as he gives a warning look to Gale.

"I've got to go wait for the train anyways," Gale says as he storms off.

"Are you okay?" Peeta asks me when he's sure that Gale's out of earshot.

"Yeah," I reply, watching the direction that Gale left in. Peeta puts his hands on my shoulders.

"Are you sure?" He asks as he looks worriedly into my eyes.

"I'm sure," I reply smiling. "Now why don't we go eat?" I ask as I take Peeta's hand in mine.

When we make it back to the Victor's Village, Peeta starts walking towards Haymitch's house. 

"What are you doing?" I ask as I stop walking and pull Peeta back by his arm.

"I thought we were going to go get married after we went hunting," Peeta laughs.

"We were," I say. "Change of plans."

"Huh oh," Peeta says as he backs away from me with his hands up. "Are you dumping me?" he laughs.

"Ha ha," I say as I kiss him. "Don't even joke about that. I love you too much to do that," I say smiling. "What I meant was we need to get dressed first," I say as I start walking towards my house.

"Okay," Peeta says as he starts walking towards his house. "Katniss wait!" Peeta says and I turn around. He points to my game bag that he's carrying. "What do you want me to do with this?"

"Keep it," I say. "Bring it with you and we'll have a feast at Haymitch's."

"Okay," Peeta replies smiling. We both turn back around and start walking towards our houses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well there's chapter 3. I was going to update yesterday but I didn't get the chance to. Fell free to comment and let me know what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

Katniss P.O.V

When Peeta gets done he comes over to my house to wait. When I come down the steps and we see each other we both smile from ear to ear.

"You're beautiful," Peeta says. He points to my dress. "Is that one that Cinna made for you when we were going to get married before the announcement of the Quarter Quell?" Peeta asks.

"Mhm," I reply. "I wasn't going to wear it but I couldn't help it," I say as I grab Peeta's hand and we go walking towards the front door. "And what about your suit?" I ask him. "I've never seen it before."

"It was my father's." Peeta says as he chokes on the last word.

"Oh," is all I can say.

"It was the one he wore the day of the first reaping," he says as tears swell up in his eyes. I realize that both of those memories are painful for him. The reaping and his father. I'm getting ready to give him a hug when he grabs my hand. "Let's go," he says. We start across the field to Haymitch's house.

When we reach his house, I get ready to knock on the door when Peeta pushes it open. "He never locks or shuts it," he says as we both laugh. Haymitch is unsurprisingly drunk, asleep, and laying in a puddle of liquor. Probably from the bottle that he's holding sideways on his hand.

"Haymitch!" I scream as I shake his shoulder violently. I'm searching for a pot to play my old tricks with, when I realize that Peeta's one step ahead of me.

"Step back," Peeta tells me as he puts his arm out in front of me and gets the can full of water ready.

"You don't have to worry about that," I tease. The second the water hits Haymitch's head, he jumps up and the knife comes flying towards us and across the room. We both throw ourselves on the ground.

"Shoot!" Peeta says. "Forgot he sleeps with a knife." Peeta stands up once he makes sure that Haymitch is fully awake. He reaches one of his hands out towards me. "You okay?" he asks.

"Yeah," I reply as I take Peeta's hand and he helps me up. "Someone's extra violent today aren't they?" 

"Must you keep waking me like that?" Haymitch asks as he wipes the water off of his face.

"Must you keep falling asleep like that?" I ask with equal aggravation in my voice. Haymitch just smiles. 

"What can I do for my favorite angel?" Haymitch asks sarcastically.

"We want you to marry us," I says as I take Peeta's hand.

"No," Haymitch says as he puts both of his hands up. 

"Who not?" I ask wondering if I could get that knife in the wall in time before Peeta pulls me back. Peeta follows my gaze and grips my hand even harder.

"Because for one it's forbidden to be married to two people at the same time. Two, I'm not gay," he says as he points to Peeta. "And three, I wouldn't marry you sweetheart if my life depended upon it," Haymitch finished as he smirks.

"That's not what I meant," I say with tension and desperation in my voice.

"Oh, you mean you want me to hitch you and Peeta together?" Haymitch asks as he smiles at the obvious answer. "Still going to have to say no."

"Why?" I ask about to lunge myself towards him. I think that by this point even Peeta is having second thoughts about the knife. 

"Because you don't deserve the boy," Haymitch says as he searches for a fresh bottle of liquor. "I'm out of liquor," Haymitch says angrily. "Sweetheart, do you have any extra bottles stashed away at your house?"

"A few," I reply with my arms crossed.

"Bring me back a few will ya?" Haymitch asks as he sits down.

"I will," I say. "But only if you marry me and Peeta.

"No," Haymitch argues.

"Fine then," I say. "Guess you'll just have to stay sober." Haymitch thinks about this for a moment. 

"Fine," Haymitch reluctantly agrees.

"Thank you," I sigh. Haymitch looks over to Peeta.

"Are you sure you wanna go through with this? Look at what you'll get stuck with."

"I'm sure," Peeta laughs. I smirk at Haymitch.

"Fine then," Haymitch says as he rolls his eyes. "Let's get this over with so I can go back to drinking."

"That's an excellent opening," I tease.

"Why don't you take it away then sweetheart?" Haymitch says with an amused look on his face.

"No," I say.

"We'll you seem to be an expert at this," he says.

"I didn't say I was an expert I just meant that you could do a better job at your introduction." Haymitch opens his mouth to say something when Peeta speaks up.

"I volunteer as tribute!" Peeta says and we all three start laughing.

"Take it away then," Haymitch says as he swats at the air as if he's swatting at a fly or something. Peeta gets ready to speak when Haymitch butts in again. "Wait!" he says. "Hold hands." Peeta and I smile as we take each other's hands. "Continue," Haymitch says.

"It was fate that brought us together," Peeta begins. "At first we used our love story as a method of survival. But now, it has grown into something much more. I loved you at first, and by the time you were sure that you loved me, I was programmed to hate you. I'm not saying that I'm glad I was hijacked, but at least I did get to fall in love with you all over again." As much as I try to hold them back, I can't help the tears from flowing down onto my cheeks.

"We don't exactly have the best track record in our relationship," I say. "First you take a beating to give me a loaf of bread. Then we were called to the Games together where you confess your undying for me in front of all of Panem and I nearly kill you for it. We later decided that we'd rather commit suicide than kill the other one and let the Capitol win. We were then forced into a marriage that never really happened and thrown back into the arena. From there you, again in front of all of Panem, said that I was pregnant just to try to stop the Games. We were separated and when I finally realized I loved you, it was too late. What I thought was going to be our happy reunion ended up with you trying to kill me. But somehow we still made it to where we are today." When I finish I have no clue how I got all that out. Once I started talking the words just rolled off my tongue.

"You two have been to the closest thing to hell that you can experience here on earth and back twice." Haymitch says. "I'm not saying that you two deserve each other," he says as he shoots me a look. "But both of you have definitely earned this moment. So you two are married now. You happy? Peeta you may kiss your bride but not here," Haymitch says. 

Peeta walks over to me and wraps both of his arms around my waist. "You don't know how long I've dreamed of this day," he whispers." I swallow hard to stifle a sob. The tears start flowing down my face as I lift my right hand and let it rest on Peeta's cheek. I hang my head and close my eyes. 

"Haymitch is right," I say. "I don't deserve you." Peeta takes his thumb and starts wiping the tears from my eyes.

"Yes you do," he says softly as he tilts my chin up and kisses me, ignoring Haymitch's demands.

"Now go get me my liquor sweetheart," Haymitch says impatiently. 

"Fine," I say. "A deal's a deal," I sigh as I walk out of Haymitch's house.


	5. Chapter 5

Katniss P.O.V

When I get back to Haymitch's house, I set two bottles down on his table.

"Is that all?" he asks. "What will I have to do next time to get more?"

"Don't even go there," I warn. I turn to Peeta who's standing behind Haymitch smiling. "Where's the game bag?" I ask.

"Here," Peeta says as he hands it to me. As soon as I take the bag, me and Peeta start fixing lunch. When we get done, I hand a plate full of food to Haymitch. He takes a big bite.

"Good grief!" Haymitch screams as he spits his food out of his mouth. "You two haven't been married for thirty minutes and you're already trying to kill the poor boy," he says as he turns to Peeta. "It's not too late to get a divorce you know," he teases.

"Be quiet and drink your liquor," I say.

"You know something? That's the best advice you've ever given to me sweet heart," Haymitch says as he opens a bottle of liquor.

"We'd better go," Peeta says. "It's getting late."

"Thank you Haymitch," I say as I pick up my game bag full of leftovers.

"You're welcome," Haymitch says as he smiles. I grab Peeta's hand and we go walking out the door.

"Which house are we going to live in?" Peeta asks.

"I don't care," I reply.

"How about yours?" he asks. I kiss him.

"You mean ours?" I say. Peeta just smiles.

When we walk in, me and Peeta start putting our leftover meat and berries away. I hang my game bag on the coat hanger and turn around. When I do, I bump right into Peeta.

"Sorry," I say. Peeta puts both of his arms around my waist and pulls me in close as he leans down and kisses me. For a few seconds, both of my hands rest in his chest, then he pulls me back a little.

"What are we going to do with ourselves now?" he whispers.

"I don't know," I say. "I've never been married before." Peeta smiles at me.

"Me neither," he says. After a few minutes of standing there in silence, he whispers something that I knew was coming soon. "What about kids?" He asks. My muscles tense up as I back away, shaking my head.

"No," I say as my voice cracks.

"Why not?" He asks. "We wouldn't have to worry about them going through the reaping or anything like that."

"I know," I say understandingly. "But, Peeta, just because we left the arena, doesn't mean the arena left us," I say referring to the nightmares and hijacking relapses. Peeta knows exactly what I mean. "Peeta, I'm not saying I don't want kids, I do. But I'm... I'm just scared," I finally spit out. It's true. There's no telling how many ways the hauntings from mine and Peeta's past could scar our children, if we have any that is.

"I'm scared, too," he says. "But we're going to have to overcome that together if we're ever going to be truly happy again," he says as he lowers his voice to almost a low whisper, walks over to me, and wraps his arms back around my waist.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath. "All right," I say.

"Really?" Peeta asks.

"Really," I reply with a smile as I look into Peeta's eyes. Usually his eyes are full of kindness and compassion and understandment, but I now notice something else in them. And it's not anger or hatred.

It's love.

"I love you," I whisper.

"I love you too," Peeta whispers back as he kisses me. There's that feeling back. Except now, I've finally figured out what I've been craving. And for the first time, my hunger for more is nearly satisfied.


	6. Chapter 6

Katniss P.O.V

When I wake up, Peeta's right there beside me. "No nightmares," I whisper smiling.

"Me neither," he replies as he kisses me. "But we're about to face one," he says smiling.

"What?" I ask. Even though he isn't being serous, something in his voice tells me that he's speaking the truth.

"We haven't told your mother yet," he says. We both start laughing.

"I'll call her later," I say. We lay there for a few minutes until the phone rings.

"Maybe you won't have to," he teases as he stands up and walks to the study where the phone is. After a few minutes when he doesn't come back, I go to check on him. He's got his hands folded in his lap and he's staring at the ground.

"What's wrong?" I ask as I pull up a chair next to him and sit down.

"That was your mother," he replies. "I didn't tell her because she said she's coming by District 12 today. She said she's in the Capitol right now getting medical supplies and she'll be here when the next train comes in."

"But what's wrong?" I ask worriedly.

"She said there's talk about retrying to rebuild 12," he says.

"Good luck with that," I say.

"Katniss, they're serious this time," he says. "They're wanting to make it into a District of just businesses. Like schools and hospitals."

"As long as they leave us and the Victor's Village alone," I say even though I really hope that they'd just leave all of 12 alone.

"Katniss," Peeta says patiently. "They're wanting to turn 12 into a business District. No more residential areas." He must still be able to see my bewilderment because he looks me right in the eye and delivers the next line very slowly. "Katniss, they're wanting to destroy the Victor's Village."

"No!" I say forcefully as I stand up quickly, knocking my chair over. Peeta stands up with me and walks over to me.

"There's nothing we can do," he says.

"Yes there is," I say. "We can take a stand!"

"Katniss," Peeta begins to say, but I cut him off.

"Peeta, they can't just come here and tear down our house. Our house that we're going to raise our children in. Our house where we're going to live together for the rest of our lives!" In screaming now. Not directing it at Peeta, but at the situation.

"Katniss," he says gently as he pulls me in close. I rest my head on his chest. "It's going to be okay. You just have to stay calm. All right?" He says.

"All right," I reply. The phone starts ringing again.

"I'll answer it again if you want me to," he says.

"All right," I reply. "I'll be in the living room if you need me." I walk into the living room and curl up on the couch closest to the fire place. Peeta comes back downstairs in a few minutes.

"It was your mother again," says Peeta as he sits down next to me and wraps his arm around my shoulder. "She said there's an emergency in District 5 so they're getting ready to fly her there now. She'll probably be there for a couple of weeks," he says.

"I'll go visit her soon," I say.

"We still need to tell her," he says. I lean my head into his chest.

"I know," I say. "We will." He smiles at me. "So what are we gonna do now?" I ask.

"Why don't we go for a swim?" He asks.

"All right," I say. I go upstairs and put on a T-shirt and a pair of jeans. When me and Peeta both are ready, we walk out the door, join hands, and go running towards the lake. When we get there, we immediately jump in.

We got out deeper, and deeper until I finally can't reach. Peeta grabs me by the legs and pulls me under. Usually this wouldn't bother me, but I start having a flashback about the second Games where one of the other boys dragged Peeta under the water and he almost drowned.

I start panicking. I thrash around, and I kick something really hard. When I come back up, I'm screaming and trying to catch my   
breath. Peeta comes up beside of me and takes me by the waist. He helps me back up onto the shore.

"You okay?" Peeta asks as he pulls me in and I rest my head on his shoulder.

"Yeah," I gasp, still trying to catch my breath. When I finally calm down all the way, I realize Peeta's nose is bleeding. "What happened?" I ask.

He just smiles. "You kicked me in the face," Peeta says laughing.

"I'm sorry," I say.

"Don't be," he says. "I'm the one that should be sorry. I shouldn't have scared you like that," Peeta says as he kisses me.

"You didn't scare me," I say.

"Then why did you panic?" He asks. I tell him why. The whole story about watching him almost drown. "I'm sorry," he says.

"It's fine," I say. "You didn't know." Peeta offers me his hand and helps me up.

"Maybe we better leave," he says as we go walking back towards our house. When we get back home, we both change into our warm, dry clothes. Peeta comes into the living room where I'm sitting on the floor beside of the fireplace. He comes and sits down next to me. He wraps his arms around my shoulders. "Are you all right?" He asks.

"Yeah," I reply.

"Maybe you do need to go visit your mom," Peeta says. "Give you a change of scenery for a while."

"Okay," I say. "As soon as Mom goes back to District 4, I'll go visit her."


	7. Chapter 7

Katniss P.O.V

It's right after the beginning of Summer before I can finally make my visit to Mom. "The train will be here in an hour," Peeta says. "I'll walk you to the station," he says as he picks up my bags.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" I ask.

"I'm sure," he replies.

"We've been married for three months and haven't told her yet. You're really going to let me face that alone?" I tease. He kisses me.

"You two need your time alone to get your relationship back on track," Peeta says.

"She's your mother-in-law now," I say smiling.

"How can I forget?" Peeta asks as he playfully rolls his eyes. I laugh as I walk over to him and wrap my arms around his neck. I kiss him and he slowly sets my luggage down. He wraps his arms around me. I get that feeling again.

"You're train will be here in a little while," Peeta whispers after a few minutes.

"I know," I say. He pulls me back a little.

"Are you scared of your mother?" He asks laughing.

"No," I reply. "But I really wish you'd go," I say.

"I know," he says. "Somebody's got to take care of Haymitch."

"All right," I sigh knowing that this ain't the only reason he's staying behind. He's scared of my mother. Peeta picks my bags back up and we head out the door. When we finally reach the train station, the train's just pulling in. "It'll be another hour before I leave," I say. Peeta sets the luggage in the doorway of the train.

"What do you want to do then?" he asks. I take his hand.

"Let's go for a walk," I say. We don't go far. We just walk along the fence that's now barely standing. I can tell by the look on Peeta's face that he's thinking hard about something. "What?" I ask after a few minutes of wondering what's bothering him.

"Do you have the pearl with you?" he asks. 

"Yeah," I reply. "I'm not traveling out of the district without it," I say smiling. 

"Can I see it?" he asks.

"Yeah," I reply as I take the pearl out of my pocket and hand it to him. "What are you going to do with it?" I ask curiously.

"You'll see," Peeta replies as he breaks of a piece of wire from the fence and wraps it tightly around the pearl. He pulls on the end of the wire to secure the pearl and then bends it to make round shape in the back of the pearl. He ties the ends of the wire together and breaks off as much of the access wire as he can.

He slides the ring that he just made onto my finger. "I just realized I never got you a ring," Peeta says smiling. Tears start running down my cheeks.

"Thank you," I whisper. I take both of his hands in mine and kiss him. We stand there a moment, our fingers still entwined together. The train whistle sounds. 

"Better get going," Peeta says, and we take off running towards the train. When we reach it, Peeta kisses me goodbye. 

"I'll see you in about a week or two," I say.

"All right," Peeta says. "Katniss, maybe when you get back we can start on that family that we talked about," he says.

"Yeah," I reply. "I would like that." The doors start closing and the engine on the train starts. "Bye Peeta!" I say just as the doors close. I pick up my luggage and take it to an empty compartment.

I make my way to the end of the train where me and Peeta talked right before we went to District 11 during the Victory Tour. When the doors open, I get a surprise.

"Gale?" I gasp. Why do I keep running into him? Gale stands up and walks over to me.

"Hey Catnip," he says cautiously. The closer he moves to me, the farther I back away. "Are you still mad at me about what happened in the woods?" he asks.

"No," I say. "The real question is are you?"

"No," he replies. "I know you wouldn't really throw your life away for that sorry excuse for a baker." I tense up, trying so hard not to slap him. "Give me a chance," Gale says as he steps closer to me.

I'm cornered. He's got me standing right up against the door. He moves in on me so fast I have no time to react. He roughly grabs my shoulders and forces a kiss on my lips. I do the only thing I can think to do. I slap his face so hard it leaves marks.

He jumps back. I can feel the bile coming up in my throat. "Katniss," Gale begins to say. I get ready to make a run for the bathroom, but I'm too late. I throw up all over the front of Gale's shirt. "Are you okay?" he asks.

I put my hand over my mouth and run to the bathroom. I slam the door behind me and make it over to the toilet before I vomit again. I hear someone knock on the bathroom door.

"Katniss," Gale says. I can tell he's concerned. "Are you okay?" he asks.

"Yeah," I reply, still trying to catch my breath. When I come out of the bathroom, Gale's standing right there. He's taken his top shirt off to reveal a much cleaner undershirt. "I'm sorry," I say.

"It's all right," Gale says. "Maybe you need to go lie down." 

"Yeah," I say as I nod my head. I go to the same compartment that I put my luggage in and lay down. it's hours later when Gale's waking me.

"This is our stop Catnip," he says softly.

"Our stop?" I ask.

"Yeah," Gale replies. "This is where my mom lives, too." Great, I think. 

"Did you come here just because I did?" I ask aggravatedly.

"What? You think I planned this?" Gale asks.

"Yes," I snap.

"We'll I didn't. So you can get that idea out of your head right now," Gale snaps back. I stand up to get my luggage, but when I do, I can't find it. "It's waiting at the door for you," he says.

"Thank you," I say flatly. Why am I being so mean? I think. I'm not really mad at Gale. He doesn't know that me and Peeta are married now. Me and Gale step off the train to find my mother waiting for us. She looks surprised to see me.

"I was expecting just Gale," Mom says as she hugs me. "Hazelle asked me to come get Gale and bring him to her house." Gale and I grab our stuff.

"Here," he says as he takes my bigger bag.

"Thank you," I say, trying to be a little bit friendlier. I'm a little bit surprised to see a car has come to pick us up. Not a fancy one like they have in the Capitol, but one that was used to transport us around in the various Districts on our Victory Tour.

"Is this for us?" Gale asks.

"Yeah," Mom replies. "Since I'm considered an important citizen I get my own personal vehicle. I'm still learning how to drive it though," she laughs. Gale sets our stuff in the vehicle and climbs in. He offers me a hand.

"Thank you," I say as I gladly accept his hand and he helps me into the vehicle. When we drop Gale off, and get to the place where Mom lives, I get settled in.

"I have to go back to the hospital because I'm still on call," Mom says.

"Okay," I reply. 

"I'll be back in a couple hours," she says.

"Okay," I say smiling. She hugs me. The second she leaves I take off to go find a phone. I find one in Mom's medical study room and dial our home number. I'm relieved when Peeta answers.

"Hello?" He says, unsure of who I am.

"Peeta," I say.

"Katniss," he says. I can tell by the tone in his voice he's relieved that I called him. "I was starting to worry about you," he says.

"I'm fine," I say. "I did get a little sick earlier, but I think I'm fine now."

"You sure?" He asks worriedly.

"Yeah," I reply. "I'm sure."

"So does she know yet?" He asks.

"No," I reply. "She picked me up from the station, dropped me off at her house, and then left for the hospital again."

"How did she know you were coming?" He asks.

"She didn't," I say.

"Then why was she there to pick you up?" Peeta asks, obviously confused.

"She wasn't there to pick me up," I explain. "She was there to pick Gale up," I say.

"Oh," Peeta replies. Everything on his end goes quiet for a few minutes.

"Peeta," I finally say. "Peeta?" There's urgency in my voice now. "Peeta!" I scream. I hear him screaming, and what sounds like him hitting stuff in the background. "No," I whisper. Not now. Not when I'm this far away from him.

I immediately hang up and call Haymitch. I'm about to give up on Haymitch ever answering the phone and hoping for the best, when his voice finally comes through the speaker.

"Hello," Haymitch mutters.

"Haymitch," I begin to say, but he cuts me off.

"Sweetheart!" Haymitch says. I can tell right now that he's drunk. Great! "Finally decide you're no good for lover boy so you left?" He asks.

"Haymitch please. This is an emergency!" I beg. He must be able to tell I'm not joking because now his voice sounds serious.

"What's wrong?" He asks.

"Can you go check on Peeta?" I ask. "I don't have time to give you all the details."

"You don't need to say anything else," Haymitch says. "I'm on it."

"Thank you," I sigh. "Please call me back when you make sure he's okay," I say worriedly.

"No problem sweetheart," Haymitch says as he hangs up. I sit by the phone for what seems like forever and wait. I finally decide that it's not going to do me any good to sit by the telephone and worry while bitting my fingernails to stubs.

The second I stand up, I start feeling nauseous again. I make it to the bathroom just in time. Mom walks through the front door while I'm still retching. 

"Katniss," she calls.

"I'm in here," I reply. She comes to the bathroom door.

"Are you okay?" She asks.

"I think so," I reply as I walk out of the bathroom. "I've been sick since earlier today," I say.

"Do you feel sick now or does it just happen all of a sudden?" She asks in her doctor's voice.

"All of a sudden," I say. "But in fine. Honestly," I say.

"All right," she says.

"I'm sorry I just dropped in like this," I say.

"Oh, you're fine," Mom says as we sit down in the living room. The second Mom sits down the phone rings. "I always love for my daughter to visit me," Mom says as she goes off to answer the phone.

In a minute, Mom comes back into the living room. "It's Haymitch," she says. "He said he's calling about Peeta." The second she says this I run to the phone. I'm panicking the whole way there. I think I'm about to have a heart attack by the time I reach the study.

"Hello," I say.

"Katniss," Haymitch begins, "Peeta's okay. He's just resting right now. He might have a slight concussion though, so I'm not going to let him fall asleep right now." I let out a sigh of relief.

"Haymitch, thank you," I say.

"No problem," he replies. "I'll have him call you back after he rests a little while."

"Okay," I say. "Thank you so much," I say as I hang up. I sit down in a chair with my head in my hands. In a few minutes, Mom comes to check on me.

"You okay?" She asks.

"I am now," I reply as I look up at her. She comes over to me.

"You really love Peeta don't you?" She asks.

"Yeah," I reply. "I do."

"Honey, I'm not going to tell you how to live your life, but may I make a suggestion?" Mom asks.

"Yeah," I say curiously.

"Why don't you give Gale a chance?" She asks. Anger runs through me. I have to remind myself that she doesn't know.

"I'm done giving Gale chances," I say calmly.

"Why?" Mom asks as she bends down next to me. I look her right in the eye.

"Because me and Peeta got married."


End file.
